Queensland Government
Department of Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services
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People seeking to adopt a child in Queensland or from overseas

Table of contents:

What is the expression of interest register?

The expression of interest register is a list of the names of people who have made an expression of interest in having their suitability to be an adoptive parent assessed. From this register, or list, the department selects people to assess for suitability to meet what the department anticipates will be the needs of children who will require an adoptive placement.

The Adoption Act 2009 requires the department to keep this register.

To make an expression of interest, a person and their spouse must forward a completed form to Adoption Services Queensland (ASQ). An expression of interest can be made only on the approved form available from ASQ.

If a couple's expression of interest relates to intercountry adoption, it must state each country for which the couple wish to be considered.

A person's name may only be entered in the expression of interest register if the person and the person's spouse are eligible to have their names entered in the register.

Who is eligible to express interest?

Couples may lodge an expression of interest in being assessed for suitability to be adoptive parents.

There are some conditions a couple must meet in order to lodge an expression of interest. A couple may only express an interest if:

A couple will be eligible to have their names entered in the expression of interest register if:

  • they are a man and a woman who have been living together as spouses (either married or de facto) continuously for at least two years, and are currently living together
  • they are both adults who are resident or domiciled in Queensland
  • at least one of them is an Australian citizen
  • the female partner is not pregnant
  • neither partner is undergoing fertility treatment and have not undergone fertility treatment within the previous 6 months
  • the couple does not have custody* of a child under 1 year of age or a child who has been in their custody for less than one year.

Once a couple's names have been entered into the expression of interest register, they can be selected by Adoption Service Queensland to begin the assessment phase of the adoption process.

Couples' whose names are on the expression of interest register have two obligations:

  • they must continue to meet the eligibility criteria
  • they must immediately notify the department if they become aware they are no longer eligible, or any information about them or their circumstances changes.

Can a couple express interest in local adoption and intercountry adoption?

At the time a couple lodges an expression of interest, the couple can state whether they are expressing interest in local adoption (i.e. a child in Queensland), intercountry adoption or both. However, a couple is not able to lodge another expression of interest if their names are already entered in the expression of interest register or the suitable adoptive parents register.

A couple who state on their form that they are expressing interest in both local adoption, and intercountry adoption, will be asked to indicate which program they would prefer to progress through.

Although it is a single expression of interest, a separate plan number will be issued for the local adoption and the intercountry adoption components of the expression of interest for administrative efficiency.

The couples' interest in both programs will continue to be noted in the register until the expression of interest expires, or the couple's suitability to be adoptive parents for a child under one program has been assessed.

If an expression of interest expires, or a decision is made regarding whether a couple is suitable to be adoptive parents, the couple's names must be removed from the register. If assessed as suitable, the couple's names are then entered in the register of suitable adoptive parents.

Can a person/s be invited to be assessed in relation to particular child?

To ensure the needs of a particular child requiring an adoptive placement can be met, the department may select one or more persons or couples to have their suitability assessed.

If there is no-one listed in the expression of interest register or the suitable adoptive parents register who is likely to meet the particular placement needs anticipated for the child, the department may select anyone considered likely to meet the anticipated placement needs of the child.

Examples of people who may be likely to meet the anticipated placement needs of a child, include:

  • the child's approved foster carers
  • the adoptive parents of the child's sibling
  • a person who has previously expressed an interest in adopting a child with a disability (for a child with a disability)
  • a person from the child's community or language group for Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children.

A person may be selected even if the person:

  • expressed interest in a program other than the one under which the child requires a placement
  • is not listed in the expression of interest register
  • does not have a spouse.

However, a person may be selected only if the person:

  • agrees to being selected
  • is an adult
  • is an Australian citizen or has a spouse who is an Australian citizen
  • is resident or domiciled in Queensland.

If the person has a spouse, the person can be selected only if:

  • the spouse is not the same gender as the person
  • the person and the spouse are living together.

Inwhat circumstances does an expression of interest expire?

An expression of interest will expire if two years pass after a couple's name is entered in the expression of interest register and the couple has not been selected to begin assessment.

If a couple's names are on the expression of interest register when the Adoption Act 2009 commences, the transitional rules provide that their expression of interest will expire on the following dates, assuming the couple has not progressed to assessment by that date:

  • if the couple lodged their expression of interest before 1 February 2009 — the expiry date is 1 February 2011
  • if the couple lodged their expression of interest after 1 February 2009 — the expiry date is the second anniversary of their names being entered into the expression of interest register.

Removal of name from the expression of interest register

A couple's names must be removed from the expression of interest register if:

  • either of the couple stops being eligible
  • they have not paid a required fee
  • their names have been entered in the expression of interest register for two years and they have not been selected for assessment.

A person's name may be removed from the expression of interest register if the person:

Selecting people on the expression of interest register to be assessed

The Adoption Act 2009 requires the selection of a sufficient number of people with different profiles that would be reasonable to assess. This is to ensure there are enough suitable prospective adoptive parents to meet the anticipated placement needs of children in Queensland, or from overseas.

Before selecting a couple to proceed to assessment, the department must be satisfied the couple meets the anticipated placement needs of a child to be adopted. The department will consider the couple's characteristics and the preferences they have expressed in relation to a child's adoption.

To determine the future placement needs for children for the local adoption program, the department considers the following recent trends:

  • likely characteristics of children who will require an adoptive family, such as their age, social and cultural backgrounds and any particular medical needs
  • types of preferences likely to be expressed by birth parents about the child's upbringing — such as religious upbringing, preferred characteristics of the child's adoptive parents and family, and the degree of openness in any adoption arrangement.

The placement needs for children through the intercountry adoption program are determined by the requirements of the overseas adoption authorities that apply to prospective adoptive parents for each country. The requirements of the overseas adoption authority may relate to:

  • additional eligibility or suitability criteria
  • quotas or other restrictions on the number of couples' files that can be sent to a particular country at a particular time
  • additional matters — such as a desire for a range of applicants of different ages and family composition.

In deciding whom to select for assessment, priority may be given to a couple:

  • with the same ethnic background as the child to be adopted
  • who have previously adopted a child with similar placement needs.

Otherwise, couples can be given priority according to the date on which they lodged their expressions of interest. For a couple who had a previous expression of interest that expired after two years, the date of the first expression of interest will be used so they are not disadvantaged in any consideration of chronological order.

Assessing suitability to be adoptive parents

A couple is assessed jointly to see whether together they are suitable to parent an adopted child, although each must also be found suitable in their own right.

Assessment is a comprehensive and complex process that involves information being gathered from a variety of sources and analysed. The department can obtain this information in a number of ways, including:

  • asking the couple to complete a workshop or similar educational activity
  • visiting the couple's home and talking with them
  • talking with referees nominated by the couple and anyone else with relevant information
  • obtaining expert advice about their health
  • appointing an Adoption Contract Worker to assist in the process
  • asking the couple to prepare documents, for example, a profile of their family
  • obtaining information from the department, or other departments, including criminal and domestic violence history and certain investigative information from the Queensland Police Service and traffic history.

Assessment considerations

The department starts a couple's assessment by considering:

  • each person's criminal, domestic violence or traffic history and that of any adult members of their household, to determine whether this information reveals whether they pose an unacceptable risk of harming a child
  • each person's state of heath, to determine whether they have the good health necessary to provide stable, high level care for a child until adulthood.

On the basis of this initial information, the department can decide that the couple are not suitable to be adoptive parents and end the assessment without considering any other aspects of their suitability.

If the assessment continues, a range of information is gathered and the following matters are considered:

  • character and capacity: good character and a range of matters related to the capacity to be an adoptive parent, including emotional capacity, personal qualities, financial circumstances and anything else relevant to the capacity to provide for a child's emotional, physical, educational, recreational and social needs
  • parenting and adoptive parenting: attitudes to, and understanding of, the issues relevant to parenting and adoptive parenting, including the physical and emotional development of children, the responsibilities and duties of parenthood, the significance of birth parents and their families to an adopted child as well as issues about informing a child of his or her adoption
  • relationship: quality, duration and stability of the person's relationship with his or her spouse
  • adjustment to infertility: where relevant, the adjustment to and acceptance of infertility will be considered, given the feelings of grief and loss likely to be experienced.

If the couple's suitability to be the adoptive parents of a child of a particular ethnic or cultural background is being considered, the assessment also considers the ability and willingness of a couple to:

  • understand the child's background
  • maintain the child's ethnic or cultural identity, attitudes to and understanding of a particular country and its culture
  • continue to learn and to help the child to learn about the child's country and culture.

When a couple is found to be suitable adoptive parents, their names would be removed from the expression of interest register and added to the suitable adoptive parents register. This register forms the pool of couples the department looks to when it selects a couple to be the prospective adoptive parents for a child.

For couples who have expressed an interest in intercountry adoption and have been found suitable, the department would prepare their file to be forwarded to the adoption authority in the relevant overseas country.

What is the suitable adoptive parents register?

The suitable adoptive parents register is a list of the names of people who have been assessed and found to be suitable adoptive parents. The department is required to keep this register/list, of names.

Where a couple is jointly assessed and found to be suitable adoptive parents, their names will be entered in the suitable adoptive parents register and removed from the expression of interest register.

The suitable adoptive parents register forms the pool of prospective couples the department looks to when it is necessary to select a couple to be the adoptive parents for a child.

For couples who have expressed an interest in intercountry adoption, when their names have been entered into the suitable adoptive parents register the department would prepare their file to be forwarded to the adoption authority in the relevant overseas country.

Reassessment after name entered in suitable adoptive parents register

A person's suitability may be reassessed if:

  • new information becomes known, or there is a change in circumstances which may be relevant to the person's suitability
  • it is considered appropriate to reassess the person because of the length of time that has passed since the previous assessment (which, as a matter of policy, is at least every two years)
  • it is necessary to meet the requirements of an overseas adoption authority for that particular country
  • the person is being considered for the placement of a particular child and further information about suitability to be an adoptive parent for a child with particular characteristics is required.

The scope of the reassessment may include reconsideration of all matters included in the original assessment, or may be limited to particular matters relevant to the reason for reassessment.

Removal of name from the suitable adoptive parents register

A person's name must be removed from the suitable adoptive parents register if:

  • a final adoption order is made (in Queensland or in an overseas country) in their favour
  • a request is made, in writing, to have the name removed from the register
  • after a reassessment, the person is found unsuitable to be an adoptive parent
  • the person is no longer eligible to remain in the expression of interest register.

A person's name may be removed from the suitable adoptive parents register if the person:

  • gives false or misleading information
  • does not provide the department within a requested timeframe, with information reasonably required to assess their suitability
  • does not notify the department of changed or new information that is relevant to their suitability to be an adoptive parent.

Review of decisions by the Childrens Services Tribunal

Any decision made by the department that a couple is ineligible or unsuitable to be adoptive parents can be reviewed by the Children Services Tribunal.

The department is required to inform a couple when they have been found ineligible or unsuitable, provide the reasons for the decision, and inform the couple of their right to have the decision reviewed.

From 1 December 2009, the Children Services Tribunal will be replaced by the Queensland Civil and Administration Tribunal (QCAT). Eligibility and suitability decisions made under the Adoption Act 2009 will be reviewed by QCAT.

What fees apply?

Fees will be prescribed in an Adoption Regulation, which is under development.

It is anticipated the fees which currently apply to people seeking assessment as prospective adoptive parents under the Adoption of Children Regulation 1999, other than the expression of interest fee, will continue to apply under the new regulation.

However, unlike the current Regulation, there will be no requirement to pay a fee to express interest in being assessed for suitability to be an adoptive parent for a child in Queensland or from overseas.

In accordance with Queensland Government policy, the fees will increase on 1 July each year in line with movements in the Consumer Price Index.

Selecting prospective adoptive parents for a child

The department is responsible for making decisions about placing children from Queensland with adoptive families. The new Act requires the department to select a couple who will best promote the child's wellbeing and best interests from the suitable adoptive parents register.

In making a decision about the couple to select, the department is required to consider a range of matters including:

  • Child's needs: each child has a range of needs which may relate to age and gender, education, cultural background, existing or possible medical conditions or disabilities and social background
  • Birth parents' preferences: a child's parents will be given the opportunity to express preferences about upbringing in an adoptive family, including preferences about religion, characteristics of the adoptive parents and family and the degree of openness in the adoption arrangement
  • Placement with sibling: if the child has a sibling who is also to be adopted or who has been adopted, it would generally be in the child's best interests to be placed with the same family as their sibling
  • Other children in the prospective adoptive family: it is generally in a child's best interests to be the youngest child in the adoptive family by at least two years at the time of placement, and for no other child to join the family (whether by birth, adoption or in another way) for at least one year after the placement
  • Characteristics of persons being considered: the characteristics of the persons being considered would be relevant to their willingness and capacity to parent a child with their specific needs, and the extent to which they meet preferences expressed by the birth parents
  • Initial period of personal care by adoptive parents: because of early disruption experiences in adoption, it is generally in the child's best interests to be personally cared for full-time by adoptive parents for at least one year after placement, and consideration would be given to willingness and ability to provide this care.

Specific provisions apply to selecting a couple to be the prospective adoptive parents of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child.

In the case of intercountry adoption arrangements, a couple's file is sent overseas and placement decisions are made by the adoption authorities in a child's country of birth, with the department's agreement (in accordance with the Hague Convention). However, on occasion the placement of a child who has travelled from overseas for adoption in Queensland breaks down. In consultation with the relevant overseas authority, the department may arrange another adoption placement for the child by selecting another couple from the suitable adoptive parents register to be the child's prospective adoptive parents.

Selecting prospective adoptive parents for an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child

If a child to be adopted is an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child, the department is required to consult with an appropriate Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person in selecting a couple to be considered to be the child's prospective adoptive parents.

The department must also give proper consideration to selecting an adoptive placement for the child, in order of priority, with:

  • a member of the child's community or language group
  • an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander who is compatible with the child's community or language group
  • an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.

This child placement principle is not the only consideration in selecting a couple to be the prospective adoptive parents for the child. Other matters, including the child's individual age-related, health or educational needs, preferences expressed by the child's birth parents and characteristics and assessed capacity of possible adoptive parents would be taken into consideration to ensure the selection best promotes the child's wellbeing and best interests.

Adoption plan

An adoption plan is a written document entered into between a child's birth parents and prospective adoptive parents that can be about anything relating to the adopted child's wellbeing or interests. A plan is negotiated between parties, with the assistance of Adoption Services Queensland.

An adoption plan is not legally enforceable and does not alter the adoptive parents' role as the child's only legal parents. The purpose of an adoption plan is to contribute to the success of the adoption by ensuring parties to the adoption properly consider:

  • matters that might affect the child's wellbeing and interests
  • consequences of entering into the particular arrangements for the adoption (for example, the degree of openness)
  • and commit to practical ways to address the matters mentioned above.

An adoption plan is compulsory, and must be in place before a final adoption order is made, where:

  • a child's prospective adoptive parents and birth parent/s wish to have in-person contact between the child and the child's birth family after the adoption
  • the child to be adopted is, or has been, a child in care
  • an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander child is to be adopted by a person or couple from outside of his or her community.

An adoption plan may address matters such as:

  • when a party will communicate with another party
  • how a party will communicate with another party, including communication through the mailbox service or another way that does not identify the first party and any matters about which information will be exchanged
  • the adoptive parents' commitment to telling the child about the adoption and helping the child understand the circumstances of the adoption.

An adoption plan may not include anything that purports to prevent, restrict or otherwise control the movement of a party.

There are no circumstances in which it is compulsory for an adoption plan to be negotiated in relation to a child who was adopted under the Adoption of Children Act 1964.

Interim order

The Childrens Court may make an interim order in favour of a child's prospective adoptive parents if satisfied all requirements of the Adoption Act 2009 have been met.

An interim order grants custody of a child to the prospective adoptive parents which gives them the right to have the child in their daily care (i.e. to have physical custody of the child) and the right and responsibility to make decisions about the child's daily care.

For an intercountry adoption, the law automatically places the child in the prospective adoptive parents' custody from the time of the child's arrival in Queensland. In this way, the law recognises the decision made by the overseas adoption authority to place a particular child with a couple as the child's prospective adoptive parents.

A child must have been in the custody of the prospective adoptive parents for at least 12 months' before the Childrens Court can make a final adoption order.

The minimum interim order period does not apply to applications by a person to adopt the person's step-child. This is because step-parents are required to have been living with the child for at least three years to be eligible to apply to the department for adoption arrangements. Also, an interim order would not be required for people who have been the foster carers of a child under the Child Protection Act 1999 for at least one year.

While an interim order is in force, the Director-General, Department of Communities continues to be the child's guardian and remains responsible for making decisions that affect the child's long-term care, welfare and development.

Interim orders:

  • enable the department to ensure the family a child is placed with is able to meet the child's particular needs, particularly in the first 12 months which is the critical period for healthy attachments to be formed
  • give the department a legal right of access to children placed with prospective adoptive parents to assess the child's welfare and interests, support the child and the prospective adoptive parents and to prepare reports about the child's welfare and progress during the interim period
  • ensure a child adopted within Queensland or through an intercountry adoption program and their adoptive families are provided with the same level of support during the first 12 months of placement.

Final adoption order made in Queensland

The Childrens Court may make a final adoption order for a child if satisfied all requirements of the Adoption Act 2009 necessary for making the order have been met.

After a final adoption order is made, the adopted child becomes the child of the adoptive parents and the adoptive parents become the child's only legal parents.

The law stops recognising that a parent-child relationship existed between the adopted child and his or her birth parents.

The Department of Communities arranges for a copy of the final adoption order to be registered with the Registry for Births, Deaths and Marriages and a new birth certificate is issued for the child. This new certificate is in the child's name as it is after the adoption and includes the names of the child's adoptive parents.

Intercountry adoption - order made overseas

Under some of the intercountry adoption programs the adoption is finalised in that country before the child leaves to travel with his or her adoptive parents to live in Australia.

In the case of a child adopted in another country by a Queensland couple under an intercountry adoption arrangement, the Adoption Act 2009 provides the department with a legal right of access to the child when they are brought into the country.

This right of access allows the department to assess the child's welfare and interests to support the child and the prospective adoptive parents, as well as prepare reports about the welfare and progress of the child for a period of 12 months after the child has returned to Queensland with his or her adoptive parents.

Court orders about child's name

When making a final adoption order for a child, the Childrens Court may also make orders about the child's name. The court is able to make an order that:

  • the child keep their existing surname or have the same surname as an adoptive parent
  • the child keep an existing given name, have an additional given name agreed by the adoptive parents, or have a different given name agreed by the child's adoptive parents.

The court is be required to consider the child's right to preserve his or her identity and whether before the adoption the child was generally known by, or identified with, any existing names.

The court is also required to consider how any orders about the child's name would promote the child's wellbeing and best interests. This is particularly relevant when the court is considering making an order that the child no longer has an existing given name. The court is able to make this type of order only if the court is satisfied it would harm the child's wellbeing or best interests to keep the existing given name, for example, the name is in the language of the child's country of origin and has offensive of negative connotations in the English language.

The Adoption Act 2009 does not prevent any name of an adopted child being changed after an adoption order is made under another act or law, such as the right to register a change of a given or surname under the Births, Deaths And Marriages Registration Act 2003.

* Custody of a child does not include children of whom the person is an approved carer.